Tata Steel, Van Dam Shipping join forces to develop hydrogen-fueled vessel

June 15, 2022, by Fatima Bahtić

Indian steel-making company Tata Steel has entered into an agreement with Dutch firm Van Dam Shipping to develop a hydrogen-powered vessel.

As informed, the vessel concept to be developed will have a loading capacity of approximately 5,000 tons and will be the first vessel of this type.

According to Tata Steel, currently, the hydrogen-powered shipping sector includes inland waterway vessels and small ferries. Some of them are hybrids, while the others are partially hydrogen-powered or fully hydrogen-powered.

With the new ship concept, the partners aim to reduce carbon emissions caused by the sea transport of steel.

“We want to be a sustainable company on all fronts,” stated Cem Ugur, Group Head Chartering and Operations at Tata Steel.

“That means that we will not only be making green steel with hydrogen in the future, but at the same time, we are also looking at how we can use hydrogen more. For example, to make our logistics more sustainable. We are therefore also investing in green ships to transport our steel coils.”

The firm also noted that the project will provide the steel-making company an opportunity to transport the coils of steel in a more sustainable way from 2024.

The goal is that this hydrogen-powered ship concept will completely be emission-free and thus save about 3000 tons of CO2 per year compared to a ship that sails on gas and fuel oil.

Jan van Dam, the director of Van Dam Shipping added that the new partnership will intensify the relationship between the two companies that already worked in the past. Now, together, they want to contribute to net-zero and energy transition goals.

Last August, Indian steel major Tata Steel signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Japanese shipping heavyweight Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) to develop and deploy an eco-friendly bulk carrier.

The objective of the new partnerships is to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the ocean transportation of raw materials for the production of steel.